Inmate Advocacy

Through our "Inmate Advocacy Program" that is Partnering with Buck Angel's Project "Trans-Form", & Trans Lifeline, we are helping a trans man in South Dakota, currently incarcerated and possibly facing ten years over a cannabis related offense. His name is Riley Notti. Since being incarcerated, Riley let us know he has been sexually assaulted in custody and has made an attemp to end his life behind bars. He has been held in the women's facility and after requesting to be transferred to the facility consistent with his gender identity, the state has refused. He has been denied adequate medical and psychiatric care by the South Dakota officials. His spouse told us that officials are claiming he's using his mental health as a get of jail free card.

41% of Transgender Individuals have attempted suicide. "The prevalence of suicide attempts among respondents to the National Transgender Discrimination Survey (NTDS), conducted by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and National Center for Transgender Equality, is 41 percent, which vastly exceeds the 4.6 percent of the overall U.S. population." As stated by the Williams Institute.

NAMI reports "LGBTQ individuals are almost 3 times more likely than others to experience a mental health condition such as major depression or generalized anxiety disorder."

This report shows "Nearly one-quarter of adults who are LGBT (23 percent) say that they have been unfairly stopped, searched, questioned, physically threatened or abused by the police."

With these statistics in mind, we are concerned for Riley. Read more about mental health in the transgender population here. Trans Empowerment Project-National has been working with Buck Angel's "Trans-Form" Project, Trans Lifeline, TLC, PPFA, and NORML to ensure this client has access to his basic rights. We need YOUR help!